A Message from our President

Well, it's early April in Marblehead and I promise you that the Sun gods will soon be shining their light on our fields so that, in time honored tradition, hundreds of our local kids wearing red, white, and black jerseys will once again be found chasing an orb in pursuit of the Greatest Game on Earth.  For those of us privileged enough to serve as volunteers for this wonderful organization, this moment cannot come soon enough. We have been preparing for this season since the end of the fall season last November.

It has been a busy winter, as we held our Annual Meeting, elected a new Board of Directors, and finalized the paperwork for our spring travel and intramural teams (all thirty-seven of them) and finalized the bulk of our seasons plans with our parent organization, Essex County Youth Soccer Association, all prior to January 5, 2010.  Fortunately for me, all the previous board members and the secretary agreed to remain involved for another year.  The organization in its current configuration is strong, comprised, as it is, of leaders committed to enhancing the soccer experience for all of Marblehead's children, while simultaneously preserving our organization's core values of participation, sportsmanship and teamwork.

Perhaps the most significant task we accomplished over the winter was a thorough re-examination of our professional training program in an effort to improve and enhance the quality of instruction for our young players.  This was a major undertaking for us requiring many hours on the part of all involved. Clearly, we believe that development of soccer skills is  the core mission of our organization, so our player development program is the most important investment we can make (and also the biggest line item in our budget).  After years of using the same organization to provide training for our clinic through U14s, we decided that one size does not fit all.  So a committee was formed, requests for proposals were drafted and sent to various local professional organizations.  Interviews were conducted, references were checked, and the field was eventually narrowed down to three innovative candidates.

MYSA is pleased to announce new partnerships with the Viking Soccer Camp for Girls, run by Nicolle Wood, Woman's Varsity soccer coach at Salem State College, who will work with our U12 andU14 Girls program, Mass. Premier Soccer, an outstanding professional soccer training group based in Waltham, MA will manage our U-10 and Clinic Programs and Nicholas Padovani, former Salem State Men's Coach, who will train our U-12 and U-14 boys. We are excited with the outcome of this process and believe the instruction our players will receive, combined with enhanced methods of learning and emphasis on the proper techniques of the game will be the most important development MYSA has experienced in many years. It is our hope and desire to create a buzz about Greatest Game right here in town, so that our players only have to drive down the street to get some of the best soccer instruction our area has to offer.  This training should be on a par with that offered only to elite club players in some towns.

On the social side, we have acquired season tickets for the New England Revolution and the Boston Breakers Professional teams for use as thank yous for our coach and parent volunteers. These tickets will be equitably distributed to as many of our volunteers as possible.  In addition, we receive discounted tickets to any event sponsored by these teams, so that all of our members can take advantage of our relationship with these professional groups.  We believe that soccer should be more than just a one hour experience during game time and that our substantial number of participants can benefit by socializing with each other at these games, while simultaneously observing the best professional soccer our region has to offer.  We hope to organize group trips to watch both teams this season.

But enough of the planning.  The time for soccer is here; the teams are formed and the games are about to begin. Organized soccer games and clinics will soon be found all over town almost every weekend through mid June.  So come on down to the Tower School on Saturday mornings, Hopkins Field, Middle Village and Lower Village almost all day every Saturday, or Lower Village on Sunday afternoons, immerse yourself in our organization's culture and volunteer to participate. We need your help and you will always be welcome.

Here's hoping for a great spring season.  Keep a ball on your foot. Often.

Kevin

MYSA's President is Kevin McCarthy,

To contact Kevin click here.